12 Questions with Kyle Larson

Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Kyle Larson, who is coming off a third-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Larson is in his third season driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?

A: I think with having a baby (15-month-old son Owen), you try to pick up as much as you can. I don’t know if that’s a surprising one, but that’s one I try to do at night before I go to bed. I pick up all the diecast cars he’s got laying around in between couch cushions and underneath the dishwasher and chairs.

A: Well, 2014 at Michigan, we had the right strategy to win. We were only going to dump a little bit of fuel (in the car) at the end – the same thing Jimmie Johnson did to win the race – but I sped on pit road during the final pit stop. I had to restart in the back. I think we still finished eighth, but had I not sped, I think I would have run first or second. That’s one I wish I could have back.

Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?

A: I guess it depends on the racetrack. If it were Martinsville or Bristol or Dover, 500 miles would be plenty. But you go to a Michigan or a Charlotte, I think you could run more than 1,000 miles. It depends how long NASCAR lets us run under green, too.

So I guess 1,000 to 1,200 miles is all I would probably want to do. But physically, you could probably go a little bit further.

Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers – and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?

A: That the races would be shorter. I think 250- or 300-mile races would be great. And only on Saturday nights – no Sundays.

Q: At the start of this year, exactly 2,900 drivers had ever raced in the Sprint Cup Series. Where do you rank among those 2,900?

A: I feel like I’m good, but I haven’t won a race yet, so my stats wouldn’t show for anything. I mean, I would like to think I’m in the top 250. I know I’m better than 250th, but the stats don’t show for it so I can’t say that.

Q: What do you think your reputation is – and is that reputation accurate?

A: I think my reputation is somebody who is pretty aggressive – maybe overly aggressive sometimes – and impatient because I like to run the top (lane at intermediate-length racetracks). And that’s pretty accurate to say I’m an aggressive, high-line driver.

I feel like I’ve kind of changed the game of NASCAR on a mile-and-a-half track where more people are searching for the top now.

That’s interesting. So do you think more people trying to run your line has taken away some of the advantage you had when you were the only one doing it?

Yeah, I guess so. Like in 2014 (his rookie season), I’d get up there and run the top and felt like I’d close a half-second on people. I feel like in the races I watched before I got to NASCAR, nobody ran like right next to the wall. And I feel like since I’ve gotten here, a lot more people do now.

I don’t know if it’s the way the cars drive or the tracks age or what, but I feel like I’ve had a part in changing the style of NASCAR racing a little bit.

Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?

A: I always like going to fancy Italian restaurants. So a five-star Italian joint would be really nice.

Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?

A: I haven’t really done a whole lot of daring stuff. Like when I go snowboarding, I don’t go in the terrain park. I’ve never been skydiving, although I’d love to go.

I guess maybe flying with the (Air Force) Thunderbirds. You’re pretty safe in there, but that would probably be it. I wasn’t quite as daring as some of the other people (who flew with them) though, because I got sick. I think I only pulled like 5.5 Gs, so it wasn’t crazy.

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Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race they’re going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?

A: I guess this could go two ways. I could pick my girlfriend, because then she could see it’s not as easy as it looks. But then she’d ride in there and know even more than she already does about racing, so that could be a good or bad pick.

The other one is your crew chief. That way you could help your performance and let him see what you’re feeling. That might be smarter.

Q: How often do you talk inside the car without hitting the radio button?

A: I feel like I don’t hit the radio button ever – or not enough, even on the good stuff. I do shout some stuff when I’m mad at myself, but I’m pretty good about not hitting the radio button. I always think it’s embarrassing on Tuesdays when FS1 releases their “Radioactive” (a compilation of the best radio chatter) and you hear people get mad at each other. So I don’t want to be that person.

So you haven’t seen yourself on those segments yet?

They might have had a couple quotes, but nothing where I’m running my mouth about somebody else.

Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?

A: I’d like to think I would. I’ll take myself. But if it wasn’t me, definitely Ryan Blaney or Chase Elliott.

Q: I’ve been asking each person to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Lesa France Kennedy, and she wanted to know what it was like for you to be a father and how it’s changed your perspective on driving.

A: I don’t think it changes my perspective on driving at all, but it definitely makes coming to the track for a three- or four-day weekend a lot more fun, having somebody to play with the whole time when you’re not in the garage area.

And he sleeps good, so we never have to wake up in the middle of the night. We usually sleep in longer than he does. So all the stressful stuff is not stressful; it’s just a lot of fun.

And do you have a question for the next interview? It’s Brian Scott.

What are they feeding their kid (16-month-old JoJo) that makes him so big?